cover image Final Atonement: 2a Doug Orlando Mystery

Final Atonement: 2a Doug Orlando Mystery

Steve Johnson. Onyx Books, $3.99 (288pp) ISBN 978-0-451-40332-2

Rabbi Avraham Rabowitz, outspoken opponent of blacks, Hispanics, gays and even other members of his own sect, was a rotten pillar of Brooklyn's Hasidic community. His sudden death--he is found in a pool of blood, clean shaven, with a prayer shawl stuffed down his throat--poses two mysteries: Who killed him, and what took them so long? For Doug Orlando, a gay homicide squad veteran, the task is not just to bring Rabowitz's killer to justice but to solve the case before the city's ethnic fabric is torn to shreds. Lack of cooperation from various ethnic factions in the neighborhood obstructs the investigation. Compounding Orlando's difficulties is his former partner, Briggs, who is eager to discredit him for cooperating with an investigation into his killing of an unarmed black teenager. Newcomer Johnson has crafted a literate murder mystery that expands the genre to include deft commentary on the changing face of urban centers. Additionally, the domestic scenes between Orlando and his lover of 12 years, Stewart, provide a sensitive and often humorous contrast to the dangers and frustrations of police work. (Dec.)